Last week Members of Parliament had the opportunity to engage in discussion and provide feedback to Professor John Halsey, who has been charged with overseeing the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education.
Regional, Rural and Remote Australia is well represented in the Electorate of Parkes. The problems faced by young people from this Electorate in obtaining a tertiary education are exacerbated by the tyranny of distance.
High achieving young people in large metropolitan centres have just a bus or a train ride between their homes and the portals of higher education. Most from the electorate of Parkes who seek a higher education must be prepared to travel to undertake further study.
Some families support these young people or parents choose to live apart while one stays at home to keep the ship afloat.
The paper identifies nine themes:
• Curriculum and assessment
• Teachers and teaching
• Leaders and leadership
• Information and communication technology
• Entrepreneurship and schools
• School and community
• Improving access
• Diversity
• Transitioning beyond school

We want to hear from the people on the ground living the experiences of regional education. 
Submissions will close at 5pm, AEST 29 August 2017. For more information visit: https://www.education.gov.au/independent-review-regional-rural-and-remote-education

All aboard for Rail Safety Week
Residents of the Electorate of Parkes are urged to ‘get on-board’ during Rail Safety Week, by encouraging pedestrian and driver awareness around railways.
Safety is a top priority for the Australian Government, and we are investing record amounts on rail infrastructure upgrades across Australia. Work on the Parkes to Narromine section of the Proposed Inland Rail Link has already begun with upgrades to watercourse crossings at West Tomingley.
The Government encourages everyone to engage with Rail Safety Week and to reduce near collisions, injuries and fatalities on our rail network. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is the national rail safety investigator, and in the 2015–2016 financial year there were 84 fatalities across the country.

$442,500 for Family Violence Prevention Legal Service in Broken Hill
The Coalition Government will provide $442,500 to support the Warra Warra Legal Service in its work to address family violence experienced by Indigenous women and children in far western NSW.
The funding forms part of the $25 million Indigenous-focused package under the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.
Victims of domestic violence need to be supported as they seek help through the legal process. Ultimately this scourge of violence that is impacting on the most vulnerable members of our community must be eliminated.
This funding will enable Warra Warra Legal Service to hire an additional trauma counsellor and social worker to provide intensive support to victims of family and domestic violence.
The We Al-li, a specialist Indigenous organisation, will receive $848,289 to develop and deliver trauma-informed training to all 14 Family Violence Prevention Legal Services across Australia, while the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Secretariat will also receive $300,000 to assist with implementing this training. 

My Aged Care support line
It was a pleasure to attend the official launch of the new My Aged Care parliamentary support line in Parliament House last week. 
This dedicated parliamentary support line aims to better address aged care questions or concerns raised by senior Australians and their support networks. 
The parliamentary support line will be operated by experienced My Aged Care contact centre staff and will be able to provide prompt and reliable information about Commonwealth subsidised aged care services and prompt resolution of enquiries or concerns you have regarding a client’s aged care journey. For more assistance or information contact my Electorate offices in Dubbo, Broken Hill or Moree.